1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to methods for communication and a respective component in support of such a method in a communication network, in particular in a company telephone network.
2. Background of the Related Art
To ensure adequate quality and connectivity of important calls in company telephone networks, if possible under all circumstances, authorization levels may be awarded to certain subscribers in traditional communication networks. For example, a particular subscriber A may be awarded a high authorization level, subscriber B a medium and subscriber C a low authorization level. Without additional measures, other subscribers in a company telephone network have no special authorization level.
If a first subscriber is in a conversation with a second subscriber, neither of those subscribers can be reached by a third subscriber as long as the conversation is active. The calling third subscriber must wait until that conversation is over. If, however, the calling third subscriber has a certain authorization level, such as a higher authorization level than the two subscribers that are parties to the conversation, then the active conversation is disconnected if the telephone network features the respective equipment, and the third subscriber with the corresponding higher authorization level can establish communication with the desired destination subscriber. When using authorization levels, this ensures that the destination subscriber is always made available to the subscriber with the higher authorization.
Furthermore, additional resources such as bandwidth capacity can be made available to a subscriber with the appropriate authorization level. Currently, the authorization level of a subscriber, that is, his authorization to make a call with a certain priority, is usually configured using a so-called softswitch and is often verified using authentication mechanisms suitable for that purpose. Usually, a subscriber is assigned an authorization level permanently, and changes to the authorization level of a subscriber require respective technical and administrative interventions. In case of shortages in terms of resources and bandwidth, such fixed assignments of authorization levels and bandwidths can lead to problems.